Argenis
Masculine · “Greek argos”
In 1621 John Barclay published Argenis, a political romance in Latin, and it became one of the bestselling books in Europe for a century. Nobody reads it now. The name of its heroine survived anyway, and it survived in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic rather than anywhere near Scotland.
How old is the name Argenis?
Argenis first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Argenis alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 1,000 people named Argenis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Argenis most popular?
Argenis peaked in 1990, reaching #1216 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 7,694 places below that high. See the whole 1990 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From argos to Argenis
The story of Argenis
Barclay was a Scot who lived in France and Rome and wrote in Latin. Argenis appeared in 1621, the year of his death, and was an immediate European success: a long allegorical romance about the French wars of religion, disguised as an ancient Mediterranean story, with a key circulating to identify who was who. It went through dozens of editions and was translated into most European languages; Richelieu is said to have admired it and Cowper translated it into English. Then it disappeared almost completely, as bestsellers of that kind do, and the only trace of it in ordinary life is a name in the Caribbean. How it got there is not documented. What is clear is that the name reached Spanish America, changed sex on the way, and is now borne by men who have no reason to have heard of a Latin novel about Henri IV.
Meaningscholars disagree
Greek argos, bright or silver
Argenis is generally traced to the title character of John Barclay's Latin romance Argenis, published in 1621. The name appears to be built on Greek argos, bright or shining, and Latin argentum, silver, from the same root. It is used as a man's name in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where the heroine's name was reassigned. The American peak is 1990.
How the name formed
- argos
- Argenis
Related forms: Argenis · Argenis
Pronouncing Argenis
ar-HEH-nees
Three syllables, stress on the second. Spanish says the g before e as an h. English readers usually say AR-jen-is.
Nicknames for Argenis
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1981
- Most boys named
- 199081 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1216reached in 1990
- Change vs 2024
- −11.1%8 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Argenis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Argenis in Spanish — same name
- Argenis in Latin — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Argeniss among us
people named Argenis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Argenis
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Demetrio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Argenis's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Demetrio climbed just as high around 1908, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Demetrio's path sketches the road Argenis is walking now.
Argenis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Argenis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Argenis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has a documented literary origin with a date.
- Three syllables with clear middle stress.
- It is well established in parts of Latin America.
- Spanish and English say the g completely differently.
- The source character is a woman.
- It is unfamiliar outside Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
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Argenis
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Argeniss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Argenis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Argenis in 2025?
- Argenis ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Argenis?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Argenis — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Argenis with classmates?
- Argenis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Argenis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Argenis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Argenis and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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